Chelsea are in the market for a right-winger, who can also operate as an attacking midfielder, but they have under two weeks to wrap up a deal
Chelsea hijack Man City bid for perfect Olise alternative compared to Hazard (Image: Photo by Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images)
Chelsea appear to still be in the market for a right-winger, who can also operate as an attacking midfielder, after Michael Olise snubbed a transfer to Stamford Bridge. The 21-year-old playmaker was heavily linked with a move to west London earlier and, at the height of the Blues’ interest, he decided to sign a new long-term deal at Crystal Palace.
football.london understood that Chelsea were once confident of securing Olise’s signature. Following talks with the France Under-21 international’s entourage, the two parties verbally agreed personal terms before paying his release clause.
It’s believed that Joe Shields was prominent in negotiations after recently playing a major role in bringing Romeo Lavia to Cobham training ground. However, despite the Blues’ best efforts, Palace capitalised on the interest in Olise and tied him down to an extension at Selhurst Park.
Chelsea now have less than two weeks to sign an alternative, and Mauricio Pochettino has a few names on his shortlist. football.london understands that the club retain an interest in Mohammed Kudus and Rayan Cherki, with Brennan Johnson emerging as a late target.
However, according to French outlet L’Équipe, Chelsea are interested in Jeremy Doku from Rennes. The report states that Manchester City are currently leading the race for the 21-year-old winger, who has been identified by Pep Guardiola as a replacement for Riyad Mahrez.
L’Équipe add that Rennes would be willing to offload Doku for around €60million (£51.4m) this summer. The Belgium international, who sees his contract at the Roazhon Park expire 2025, featured 29 times for the French side in Ligue 1 last season, directly contributing towards eight goals.
Doku has begun the new campaign in excellent form, scoring on the opening weekend against Metz. His impressive performances and low centre of gravity have seen him earn comparisons to Eden Hazard.
Speaking in Facebook live video with La Tribune for RTBF, former Premier League star Phillipe Albert explained why he would be an excellent addition to the English top-flight. He said: “He has incredible qualities that were discovered in Anderlecht but he has often been injured in the last two, three seasons.
“It is a young nugget that had left for more than €20m (£17m) so Rennes would accept an offer of €60m (£51m). I think the march is not too high, he has the qualities to win in the Premier League or in any world championship.
“If he is 100 per cent physically, he will impose himself and disgust the opponents. It’s a bit like Eden Hazard at the beginning of his career with his double, triple accelerations that can hurt a lot.
“In England, some teams are still a little naive at this level so it would hurt. He can play on both sides but I remain convinced that a player must play on his right foot so I would put him on the right. The role of a winger is also to feed the attacker so if you have the right player, there is no better at that level.”
Soucre: football.london
